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The Hep Cat
The Hep Cat is a 1942 Looney Tunes short directed by Bob Clampett. Plot The Hep Cat opens with a cat strolling through an abandoned lot. Unfortunately, he stumbles across a dog named Rosebud"—otherwise known by fans as Willoughby the dog—who, upon noticing the cat, gives chase. The cat, after a successful escape, begins singing "Java Jive." Later, the cat encounters an attractive female cat, and attempts to woo her, failing utterly. Suddenly, Rosebud the dog reappears and the chase resumes. After a series of zany, Clampett-esque sight gags, the cat once again evades the dog. As the cartoon closes, the cat can be seen kissing his dream girl—a puppet. Clampett's direction According to Milton Gray, beginning from this cartoon, Bob Clampett's creativity and experimentation reaches his peak, as subsequent Looney Tunes cartoons became wilder, zanier, and loonier in tone, direction and timing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZce6l9HGgk. In cartoons Clampett directed after this one such as "A Tale of Two Kitties" or "A Corny Concerto", there is a notable increase in violence, irreverent humor, more exaggerated double takes and surrealism. Availability * VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Daffy Duck and Company * LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 1, Side 4: Bob Clampett * VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4: Bob Clampett * DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, Disc 4 * DVD - Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 2, Disc 2 * Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 1 * DVD - The Big Street (USA 1995 Turner dubbed print added as a bonus) Notes * This cartoon is notable for being the first Looney Tunes short to be produced in color. * This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies program on November 12, 1949. * A cultural reference is made when the cat claims to be a "gorgeous hunk of man", as his face turns into a caricature of Victor Mature. As the cat feels Rosebud's hand beside the puppet he's kissing he exclaims, "Ah, something new has been added!" At the end of the cartoon the cat says, "Well, I can dream, can't I?" Both quotes were used often in Looney Tunes cartoons of this era (like for instance "Plane Daffy") and are both catch phrases by Jerry Colonna. "Ah, something new has been added" was a slogan for Old Gold (cigarette). * When Cartoon Network aired this short on The Bob Clampett Show, the titles were replaced with title cards of a colorized Porky Pig Looney Tune, with "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as the opening music. The Looney Tunes title card cuts to the Blue Ribbon title card with "Merrily We Roll Along" as title music. The Looney Tunes drum with Porky Pig saying "That's all Folks!" also closes the cartoon. This was done to identify the short as a Looney Tune, since the Blue Ribbon titles miscredited the short as a Merrie Melodie. :* The opening title cards aired on The Bob Clampett Show are not correct, since the 1942-43 season was the first in which Looney Tunes cartoons opened with the "bulls-eye" titles, usually with thicker rings. Since the original titles are lost, the restored version on DVD and Blu-ray use the Blue Ribbon titles instead of the original titles. Gallery Thehepcat.jpg Hepcat2.jpg Hepcat1.jpg Hepcat5.jpg Hepcat4.jpeg Hepcat3.jpg External Links * The Hep Cat at SuperCartoons.net. References Category:1942 Category:Cartoons directed by Bob Clampett Category:Hollywood in Cartoons Category:Shorts Category:Blue Ribbon reissues Category:Looney Tunes Shorts Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Bea Benaderet Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Kent Rogers Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by John Didrik Johnsen Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package Category:One-Shot Cartoons Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits